The ONLY AFK Sailing Guide You Need 2025 – Shipwreck Salvaging in OSRS

The ONLY AFK Sailing Guide You Need – Shipwreck Salvaging in OSRS — Shipwreck salvaging is a three‑minute, low‑click loop where you park beside shipwreck icons, operate salvaging hooks for steady XP ticks, and process the haul on a shipboard salvaging station while crewmates handle extra hooks, letting you AFK from level 15 all the way into high‑level Sailing with growing XP rates, seeds, supplies, and profit from small, fisherman, barracuda, large, pirate, mercenary, Fremennik, and merchant wrecks.

Also Read: Ranking All Slap Battles Masteries – Full Tier List & Quest Guide​​

Core salvaging mechanics

Shipwreck salvaging is done by sailing to shipwreck icons on the sea map, parking next to an active wreck, and operating a salvaging hook that periodically fishes up “salvage” for XP and cargo. Each time the hook successfully finds salvage you gain Sailing experience and the item is deposited into your ship’s cargo hold until it is full.​​

After a couple of minutes a specific wreck location “dries up,” at which point you either move to another nearby wreck spawn or hop to another world and continue salvaging.​​ Initially, you must sail back to a port with a salvaging station to process cargo into XP and loot, but later you can install a station directly on your ship and stay out at sea indefinitely.​ The activity is naturally AFK in ~3‑minute stretches: operate the hook once, then let it auto‑cycle while you tab out or do other things until the wreck runs out.​

Unlocking salvaging hooks and station

You first unlock salvaging at level 15 Sailing, when you can fit a bronze salvaging hook to your ship and interact with small shipwrecks.​​ Higher‑tier hooks become available at later Sailing levels and should be upgraded as soon as possible because they increase both XP and loot per hour.​​ When you operate the hook, you get XP on each successful salvage tick, not per click, so upgrading hook quality and wreck tier is vastly more impactful than spam‑clicking.​​

At any point, you can sail to a port that has a salvaging station, unload your cargo, and process it into extra XP plus items like seeds (hemp, cotton), repair kits, cannonballs, ores, and alchables.​​ At level 42 Sailing you can stop relying on ports by installing a salvaging station facility on your ship, letting you clean salvage mid‑ocean.​

Getting the salvaging station schematic (level 42)

To build an onboard salvaging station you must first acquire and read its schematics, which requires at least level 42 Sailing and a simple two‑step scavenger hunt.​ Reading the schematic permanently unlocks the station in your Customize Ship interface at any shipwright.​ To actually install it, visit the nearest shipwright with at least four teak planks and sixteen steel nails in your inventory, then choose the salvaging station facility and add it to your boat.​ Once installed, you can process salvage at sea whenever the cargo hold is full, massively increasing uptime for AFK salvaging because you no longer sail back to port.​​

Ship upgrades: double hooks and higher capacity

At level 50 Sailing you unlock the sloop, a ship that can mount two salvaging hooks instead of one, which effectively doubles your potential salvage pulls per tick.​​ To take advantage of this you can operate one hook yourself and assign a crewmate to the other, maintaining high XP while still AFKing most of the cycle.​​ Upgrading your cargo hold as you progress is equally important: a larger hold lets you AFK longer before you must process salvage, especially once you have a stationary salvaging facility on board.​​ Always install the highest‑tier hook available for your level before heading out, because hook quality directly affects XP/hr and loot density.​​

Crewmates and deck handiness for salvaging

From level 40 Sailing, you can start recruiting crewmates whose stats help automate salvaging and other deck tasks.​​ The key stat for shipwreck salvaging is Deck Handiness, which governs how well a crewmate works a salvaging hook and how efficiently they handle cargo‑style jobs.​​

• At level 40 Sailing, go to the Port Sarim pub and talk to Jobless Jim, who will join your crew and can immediately be assigned to salvaging tasks.​​
• At level 55, you can have a second crewmate; many players then recruit Ex‑Captain Siad from the Desert Mining Camp, provided The Tourist Trap quest is completed.​​
• Around level 60, pick up Cabin Boy Jenkins (a ghostly crewmate) from Crandor, who boasts Deck Handiness 4, making him one of the best salvaging specialists.​​

Crew management is done at the crew register in The Pandemonium, where you can assign or swap crewmates to salvaging roles.​​

When a crewmate operates a salvaging hook, they automatically deposit salvage into your cargo hold while you are free to AFK or manage another hook, but you only receive about half the XP per successful salvage compared to doing it yourself.​​ For maximum XP/hr, you should personally operate at least one hook and only assign both hooks to crew when you are busy processing at the station or need a fully AFK window.​​

XP rates and wreck progression (15–87+)

Shipwreck salvaging scales by moving to higher‑tier wrecks as your Sailing level and ship upgrades improve.​​

Known XP/hr estimates by level and wreck tier are:​​

• Level 15: Small shipwrecks – around 3,0003,000 XP/hr, generally weaker than port tasks and best used briefly until you unlock better content.​​
• Level 26: Fisherman shipwrecks – about 14,00014,000 XP/hr.​​
• Level 35: Barracuda shipwrecks – roughly 18,00018,000 XP/hr while also dropping hemp seeds.​​
• Level 53: Large shipwrecks – around 30,00030,000 XP/hr with cotton seed potential.​​
• Level 64: Pirate shipwrecks – about 40,00040,000 XP/hr.​​
• Level 73: Mercenary shipwrecks – around 63,00063,000 XP/hr and considered the point where salvaging becomes seriously efficient AFK training.​​
• Level 80: Fremennik shipwrecks – XP rises further; exact rates are still stabilizing but sit above the mercenary tier in most tests.​​
• Level 87: Merchant shipwrecks – top‑end XP/hr with some of the best loot tables and seed drops.​​

These figures assume you are using the highest hook tier available, targeting the best wreck type for your level, and operating at least one hook yourself instead of letting crew do all the work.​​

Best shipwreck locations by level

Specific wreck types spawn in certain regions, and choosing the right route minimizes sailing time between AFK cycles.​​

• Level 15 – Small shipwrecks: Spawns are very close to The Pandemonium, but XP/hr here is underwhelming, so many players stick to port tasks until mid‑20s.​​
• Level 26 – Fisherman shipwrecks: Found just south of Catherby, easily accessible from coastal ports and a solid first AFK salvaging spot.​​
• Level 35 – Barracuda shipwrecks: Located in the Tempered Tantrum waters; to sail here safely you need at least an oak mast, iron helm, and oak hull.​​
• Level 53 – Large shipwrecks: One convenient cluster lies beneath the Great Kourend coast, giving a compact salvaging loop.​​
• Level 64 – Pirate shipwrecks: Found just south of Pest Control, pairing well with ports on the Void Knight Outpost.​​
• Level 73 – Mercenary shipwrecks: Spawn in the south‑western ocean, and you can sail here quickly from Deep Fin Point.​​
• Level 80 – Fremennik shipwrecks: Occupy the far northern seas, beyond Fremennik waters, and require more sailing time but pay better XP and loot.​​
• Level 87 – Merchant shipwrecks: Appear just north of Zeah / Seya region, serving as the end‑game salvaging route with dense, high‑value wrecks.​​

In several of these areas you can park between two overlapping spawn points so that when one wreck dries up you only need to turn the ship rather than sail off, then world‑hop every few cycles for very AFK training.​​

Loot: seeds, supplies, and value

Besides XP, shipwrecks are a strong passive money and supply source for both mains and ironmen.​​

• Barracuda shipwrecks tend to drop hemp seeds, a useful farming consumable in the Sailing–Farming economy.​​
• Large shipwrecks are good for cotton seeds, feeding mid‑tier farming runs.​​
• Across all tiers you’ll also see ship repair kits, cannonballs, bars, ores, and alchables, which irons can stockpile and mains can sell for consistent profit.​​

Because processing salvage at a station also grants additional XP, you effectively get Sailing XP + loot from every AFK cycle, making the method comparable to other skilling moneymakers in early Sailing metas.​​

Sailor’s Amulet: fast teleport utility

While salvaging, you have a chance to obtain the Sailor’s Amulet, a unique teleport item tied to Sailing hubs.​​ The amulet can be charged using law runes and water runes and offers teleports to The Pandemonium, and, after you tag sailor markers, to Port Roberts and Deep Fin Point.​​ This drastically cuts down dead time when swapping ships, restocking, or changing routes, especially once you start using far‑out wrecks like mercenary or Fremennik tiers.​​

Whirlpool Surprise keg and Sailing boosts

If you want to unlock shipwreck tiers two levels earlier than listed, you can install a keg of Whirlpool Surprise on your ship, granting a constant Sailing boost.​​

To set this up:​​

1. Complete the Shark Trial in the Tempered Tantrum region to earn a barrel stand.
2. Talk to Rum‑Ralph afterwards for two free Whirlpool Surprise beers as an extra reward.
3. Buy an additional 23 Whirlpool Surprises from Steve at The Pandemonium for a total of 25.
4. Build the keg stand on your boat and fill it with all 25 Whirlpool Surprises.

Once full, simply having the keg onboard gives a permanent +2+2 Sailing level boost and raises all crew minimum Deck Handiness to 2, improving salvaging performance.​​ You can also use an empty beer glass on the keg to draw a drink, temporarily gaining +3+3 Sailing for a short burst, which may let you access the next wreck tier even earlier during a grind session.​​

AFK salvaging plan

From level 1–15, focus on basic Sailing content (port tasks and one‑time sea charting) until you can install a bronze hook and reach small wrecks.​​

• At level 15, either briefly test small wrecks near The Pandemonium or keep doing port tasks until level 26, since early salvaging XP/hr is mediocre.​​
• From 26–35, pivot to Fisherman wrecks south of Catherby while upgrading hooks as they unlock.​​
• At 35–53, camp Barracuda wrecks in the Tempered Tantrum for better XP and hemp seeds; aim to reach 42 quickly so you can get and install the shipboard salvaging station.​​
• From 53–64, move to Large wrecks under Kourend with your onboard station and at least one crewmate running a hook; upgrade to a sloop and second hook at 50.​​
• Between 64 and 73, alternate Pirate and Large wrecks while expanding cargo and recruiting Ex‑Captain Siad, then push into Mercenary wrecks at 73 where XP/hr jumps to around 63,00063,000.​​

From there, continue up the ladder to Fremennik (80) and Merchant (87) wrecks, using a full crew with strong Deck Handiness (including Cabin Boy Jenkins), a salvaging station, and a Whirlpool Surprise keg to reach effectively boosted levels and near‑continuous AFK cycles.​​ Played this way, shipwreck salvaging becomes a true zero‑to‑hero AFK path: three‑minute windows of low‑attention gameplay that steadily push Sailing to 99 while quietly filling your bank with seeds, supplies, and useful teleports.​​